Special General Election for Broward, Palm Beach lawmakers to be decided today

People are saying they want open primaries

Voters head to the polls Tuesday to elect successors for two state lawmakers in Broward and Palm Beach counties who resigned to run for Congress.

The candidates to succeed Democratic Sen. Perry Thurston and Rep. Omari Hardy will be elected right before this year’s Legislative Session is scheduled to wrap up on Friday. It’s a consequence of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ scheduling of elections to fill the vacated seats. But the winners will have “incumbent” next to their name when elections roll around again in November.

To represent Broward County’s Senate District 33, Democrat Rosalind Osgood, a former Broward School Board member and associate pastor of New Mount Olive Baptist Church, is competing against Republican Joseph Carter, a former public school teacher. The district covers parts of Margate, Pompano Beach, Tamarac, North Lauderdale, Sunrise, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Oakland Park, Plantation and Fort Lauderdale.

Redistricting is changing the district’s boundaries slightly and it’s being renumbered to Senate District 32 in the decennial redistricting process. But that won’t take effect until the regular election later this year.

Meanwhile, in Palm Beach County’s House District 88, the race is on between Democrat Jervonte “Tae” Edmonds and Republican Guarina Torres.

Edmonds has worked as an aide to two lawmakers and the founder of a nonprofit, Suits for Seniors, that provides leadership and financial literacy to high school seniors. Torres is a small business owner and former Palm Beach County teacher.

HD 88 is also being renumbered to become House District 94. The left-leaning district spans parts of Palm Beach County, including Lake Park, Riviera Beach and Mangonia Park.

The Republicans in both districts face an uphill battle in these areas that are heavily Democratic.

This Special General Election was a spillover effect of lawmakers resigning to run for Florida’s 20th Congressional District after Alcee Hastings died in office last April. Tuesday also is the regular day for a handful of cities in the two counties to have their regular municipal elections.

Broward County’s Hillsboro Beach, Pembroke Pines (two City Commission districts), Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and Lighthouse Point ask their voters to go to the polls in March.

In Palm Beach County, regular municipal elections are happening in Boynton Beach, Greenacres, Haverhill, Highland Beach, Juno Beach, Jupiter, Jupiter Inlet Colony, Lake Clarke Shores, Lake Park, Lake Worth Beach, Lantana, Loxahatchee Groves, North Palm Beach, Pahokee, Riviera Beach, Royal Palm Beach, South Palm Beach, Wellington and West Palm Beach.